12 Easy Ways To Create A Healthy Morning Routine

These past few months, mornings have been hard for me. My healthy morning routine completely went out the door when we moved to San Diego. Between all the changes of moving and Zack coming home and being pregnant, I admit that my mental health just hasn’t been doing the best that it could be. It’s frustrating some days. Mental health is like a roller coasters. Sometimes, you’re doing really well and then other days are more challenging and you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. It’s hard to constantly be finding that balance of everything to keep yourself afloat, but recently I’ve spent a lot more time focusing on creating a healthy morning routine again.

To me, your morning can easily determine how your entire day is going to go. Now I know that it’s always possible to turn your day around and you have to choose to have a good day and all that, but for someone who really struggles with anxiety and depression, picking yourself back up after a rough morning can be even more challenging. While it’s doable, it’s not as easy for some. Which is why it’s so important to really hone in on your morning routine and find one that really works for you. One that not only wakes you up, but gets you pumped up and motivated to have a good day. Starting your day off on the right foot makes it so much easier to have a good, productive day. So if you’re struggling with your morning routine, here are 12 easy things you can do to create a healthy morning routine that works for you.

Start your morning with a glass of water. Water has so many benefits for the human body. Not only does it give you more natural energy, it also helps clear your skin, cleans out your system, keeps your muscles hydrated and energized, and even keeps your organs running smoothly. So why not drink more water? As much as I love my morning cup of coffee, I always try to begin my day with a glass of water first…and then I switch to coffee later.

Plan out your day. I love going into my day with a plan. My daily planner is my lifeline. It keeps my entire life organized so I always know what I’m supposed to be doing each day. I love it. Setting my schedule for the day along with all my to lists allows me to then create a plan for how I’m going to go about my day and tackle everything that has to be done. Especially when it’s a day where both schoolwork and blog work have to be done. My course load for my master’s degree is heavy some weeks so it’s crucial that I map out my week beforehand so I’m not left scrambling to get everything done on the weekends. Also, having my to do list set allows me to see my progress throughout the day as well.

Set goals to keep yourself motivated throughout the day. I’m a huge goal setter. I love it! It’s a great way to keep myself on track and working towards something. I couldn’t imagine not having goals for my life or for my day. What would I even do? How would I go about my day? I’d be lost. But goals are always an important thing to have in your life. Your goals will vary depending on who you are and what it is that you have to accomplish that day. Sometimes I set a goal to be out of my office and on my way to the gym by 4 o’clock (this is surprisingly a much harder goal for me to accomplish than it sounds…sometimes I don’t get out until 6 o’clock or later). Another good goal for me would be to have the house straightened up before Zack comes home or to get a head start on a sponsored post or my final project for one of my courses. Whatever it may be, be sure to set a goal for yourself each day.

Don’t forget to eat a healthy breakfast. I was never a breakfast person growing up, but these days I LOVE all breakfast foods. They’re seriously the best ever. We always have eggs in our home along with english muffins and bagels. I try to keep fruits in the house as well, but I eat them WAY too quickly sometimes so that’s not always a breakfast option. But it’s true when they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day It gives you the energy you need to make it through your morning. So even if it’s something small, be sure to grab something for breakfast each morning.

Take the time to get dressed. Even if you have nowhere to be that day, get dressed. Like everyone, I have my days where I’d much rather stay in pjs and be comfy, but on the days where things really need to get done, I just cannot walk around my yoga pants and be productive. It’s just not a combination that ever works out. Like today. Even though it’s a Saturday, I am up and dressed so that I can get a ton of blog work done as well as start on some of my schoolwork. It really sets the tone for the entire day and motivates me to get things done rather than sitting on the couch watching Netflix. So I still take the time to get dressed and do my hair and makeup 6 out of 7 days every single week. That 7th day varies.

Make the bed once you get up. I don’t know what it is about making the bed, but for me, it kind of just confirms that I am officially up for the day. The bed no longer looks as inviting so I’m less likely to crawl back into it after my shower (which I do WAY too often). This may not work for everyone and I certainly do not do it every single day, but it’s always been a great way to trick myself into getting up and staying up.

Call a family member to say good morning. I’m going to start making this one a priority. Our family lives on the east coast so there’s a three-hour time difference. By the time I wake up, they’re all at work or school. So instead, I want to send them texts when I wake up letting them know I’m thinking about them and hope they’re having a good day. Assuming I remembered, this morning should have been the first morning I’ve done this so hopefully I followed through. Connecting with family is always a great way to start your day.

Ease into your day with some yoga. I just recently started taking yoga again. I go once or twice a week, typically on Monday and/or Friday mornings and I love it! It’s a prenatal yoga class too so I’m surrounded by others who are pregnant as well which is great. Starting my morning or my week with a yoga class is a nice peaceful way to ease into my daily routines and I love being able to start my day with some sort of exercise too. It gets me pumped up, feeling good, and ready to take on my day.

Get in a good workout. Starting my day with a workout has the same effect as starting the day with yoga. It makes me pumped up and ready for day and even makes me more motivated to continue healthy habits throughout my day as well. I’ve noticed that when I start my day with some sort of exercise, I’m more likely to eat better that day and stay hydrated by drinking lots of water. These days are always far more productive than the days where I don’t get any exercise at all. It really sets me up for success and keeps me on track and motivated to have a good, healthy day.

Go tech-free for 30 minutes. This one is so important and also the most challenging one on this list. Most of are very guilty of starting our days with social media. I do it every morning. I spend the first 30-60 minutes of my day just laying in bed, skimming Facebook and going through all my messages and notifications from while I was sleeping. It’s a habit that needs to be broken. Rather than immediately rolling over to check your phone, try to go tech-free for 30 minutes. Yup, 30 minutes. Allow yourself to wake up first before jumping into social media and your emails. You can even use this time to set plan out your day and set some goals that you’d like to achieve.

Turn on some music to boost your mood. I love music so it’s an absolute must that I listen to music while I get ready in the morning. Otherwise, it’s completely silent and that’s just not the right way to get ready in the morning. That’s boring, if you ask me. I’d fall back to sleep! My mood is greatly affected by the music I’m listening to so if I start my day with fun, upbeat music then chances are I’ll be more likely to have a good morning and hopefully a good day in general.

Treat yourself to something you love. This will be different from person to person. You could start your day with an extra 15 minutes in bed, a longer shower, a warm cup of coffee, a manicure, some yoga. Whatever you need to have a good morning and start your day on a good note! Your morning really does set the tone for the entire day so it’s good start it off in a positive way.

Great post. Though not all of your suggestions work for me, I think the real message is to set our own routines. For me, my mornings always start with getting up and feeding the cats, making the bed, then sitting down with my coffee to write my morning pages (for more on that, check out Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”). If nothing else, morning pages are a great way to stay off of technology for a half hour or so as it involves writing 3 pages long hand. It helps get my thoughts together and even plan out the day, or, if nothing else, clear my head of lingering garbage before getting down to business.

Absolutely! It’s so important to find a good morning routine that works for you. Not everyone is going to have the same routine and habits that work for them. I’m so glad you have something that works for you 🙂

It’s definitely important to get in the right mindset in the morning. I have a toddler so I wake up when he wakes up, but I find those mornings where I take a few minutes to actually wake up (not just jump out of bed and go get him) make a big difference throughout the day.

I see myself making these even more of a priority once the baby is born. I’m already a little worried about my mental health after the baby is here. Thank God I have such a great husband haha he’s already so amazing at making sure I’m as healthy as possible.

Thanks Ivanna! 🙂 I’ve been getting horrible headaches lately so water is the number one thing I drink throughout my day right now. But I always feel so much more refreshed when I start my day with water over coffee.

Annalee574

Another good way to start off your morning is paying it forward if you’re stopping for your morning cup of coffee! Doing something nice for someone nice for others always helps put you in a good mood.

Yes! That’s an awesome one! 🙂 I had someone pay for my coffee a few weeks ago when I was at Starbucks so I kept it going and paid for the guy behind me. I’ve done this a few times, typically around the holidays. It’s such a great way to brighten someone’s day.

Morning routines are so hard sometimes. Mine definitely comes and goes. Some mornings, I’m great at easing into my morning and then other days I completely suck at it haha I need to get better about it.

Jen

I always plan out my days and it definitely makes things go much smoother throughout the day especially when you add in a little one to the mix.

I LOVE having a plan for my day. Not necessarily a set schedule because I completely suck at schedules. But just having a to do list for the day helps me so much. It allows me to see what needs to be done and devise a plan of attack for doing it all.

I desperately need to get on a better sleep schedule so that I can start waking up a bit earlier. It’s so hard with my husband’s schedule though. He’s up for work by 4am and out the door by 4:30, leaving me wide awake and unable to fall back to sleep lol it’s so horrible.

Bonnie McConaughy

Wonderful tips! I have made a morning routine for myself that is working pretty well so far, although I’m still building consistency: coffee + healthy breakfast, read my Bible, and exercise. It helps me feel more refreshed and motivated!

Thanks Bonnie! Consistency can be so hard sometimes. I struggle with it as well. I’ll have some mornings that are super good and productive then I’ll have mornings where absolutely nothing gets done and I don’t want to get out of bed haha it’s a work in progress.

Raluca Lo

I am very glad I read your recommendations, I really needed them! It’s sometimes very hard for me to get organized in the morning, but I work on this, especially on the healthy breakfast part. 🙂
Thank you for the inspiration!

Breakfast has been the hardest for me over the years, but I’m definitely getting better about it. Most mornings it’s just that I’m too lazy to make food haha so we keep a lot of easy things in the house like bagels and english muffins and things like that.

Abby Castro

I am so guilty of the first one. When I wake up, all I could think of is coffee!! LOL

Thanks Dana! I’m such a horrible breakfast eater some days haha it’s a work in progress.

Tatyanna Picou-Baptiste

I’ve recently started to learn how important getting dressed and planning out the day is to productivity. As a stay at home mom, I’m always tempted to just stay in my PJS but that only leads to binge watching netflix lol

I’m the same way! I’ve been working from home and doing school online for a couple years now (which the exception of a few “real” jobs here and there) and staying in my pjs just never works out for me haha I spent so many months wondering why I wasn’t getting anything done and then realized it was the leggings. I still have my comfy days, but I now make it a priority to get fully dressed if I have a lot to get done. And it helps me take my biog work more seriously as well.

Thanks Hannah! I’ve gotten so much better lately about eating breakfast in the morning. I think part of it is due to being pregnant because I was NOT a breakfast eater 5+ months ago haha I love breakfast foods, but eating in the morning always made me kind of nauseous. Now, I love it!

Haha I’m the same way! I can’t do a set schedule, but I always have to have some sort of loose plan to work with. It helps me so much.

Welcome! I am so excited to have you here! I’m Keating and I’m the woman behind the blog. I’m a SoCal lifestyle blogger, wife, first time mom to a beautiful little girl, lifestyle photographer, fitness enthusiast, and lover of caramel iced lattes.

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